View From The Top

How the Santa Ynez Valley looks from the top of Figuroa Mountain.  And then the road back down to Los Alamos and Solvang to Buellton.

Most of the road is paved, some nice and smooth, other parts very rough.  The dirt parts of the road are -very- rough.  Lots of rock and ruts from the (rare) rains still.

If you are in the area and decide, Hey that looks great, bring lots of batteries, bring lots of water if you make a day of it (what you think you need, then double that), and drive very carefully.  The road goes up some 2,500 to 3,000 feet, and the drops are very far down.  Well worth the trip, as long as care is exercised.

Then go to one of the local restaurants for lunch.  We stopped at Pea Soup Andersen's (US101 and SR246, Buellton) and had a bacon cheeseburger (sorry, no pics...) that was very good.  There's tons of other places around.  Mother Hubbard's Cupboard is good too, and just celebrated their 1,000,000th customer.

Abandoned Loading Ramp

Loading for cows I'm guessing.  it looked interested, thus I took pictures of it.  Really liked the big oak tree in the middle of it.

At Manzana Trail

There is no water here.  Even the last time I was here, there was little water.  But now, even the riverbed is totally dry.  It was 94F when we stopped here.  Pretty scene, lots of trees, but no much grasses.  Did see a lizard though.

There be water here! (But not much....)

Little stream that crosses Figuroa Mountain Road.  Last time I was up here, it much larger, five or six feet across the road, now, just barely a foot across.  But still, WATER!

The rest of the drive, every stream we came across was dry.  Even the big river (which I'm told by reliable sources is a class 4 rapid when running) is totally dry, not a hint that it ever carried water at all right now.

I'm really hoping that CA gets some rain soon.

Tanned landscape

Wildlife

We saw deer relaxing under the shade of a tree.  I missed the third one.  Friend saw them even while driving.  I would have passed right by them and never known they were even there.  Not a trained wildlife spotter eye.  The horses were easy to see, ranches every along the Santa Ynez Valley.

Northern Santa Barbara County

Took these today on the way to Mount Figuroa.  The first few are from along US101 southbound. The last one is .... off SR246 heading east away from Los Alamos.

US Marine AV8-B Harrier

Pictures from the 2005 Santa Maria Thunder Over the Valley.

This plane belonged to VMA-214, US Marines, flown by Col. Glenn Hoppe.

Grumman F4U Corsair

Pictures taken during the 2005 Santa Maria Thunder Over the Valley.

It's a Mig

Pictures from the 2005 Santa Maria Thunder Over the Valley of a Mig-19, I think.